Toy airplanes are enjoyed by children and adults alike. Numerous airplane constructions have been disclosed by the prior art, from very simple constructions to elaborate replicas of full-sized planes. Toy airplanes can be merely ornamental in nature or designed for flight, whether by being hand-launched, shot with a sling, flown with a motor, or otherwise launched or powered.
However, many toy airplanes are not reconfigurable between collapsed and use configurations. The bodies or fuselages of prior art toy airplanes are commonly made of relatively rigid materials, such as plastic or balsa wood. These materials do not allow for the structure itself to bend and collapse. Consequently, once the airplane is fully assembled, packaging, transportation, and storage requirements demand space corresponding to the full length and width of the airplane.
Toy airplanes with knockdown frame structures have been disclosed. Such structures advantageously achieve a reduced overall size when disassembled or otherwise reconfigured that facilitates portability and storage. For example, some airplanes have separable wing and fuselage portions. Other toy airplanes have wings that can be pivoted or folded adjacent to a storage position adjacent to the fuselage. However, even in these constructions, the fuselage and the wings typically remain rigid even where the structure is reconfigured to a storage configuration. Consequently, the storage and transportation capabilities of the airplane remain limited.
Of course, it will be appreciated that paper airplanes, indeed many types of toy airplanes, can be reconfigured from a use configuration to a collapsed configuration. However, doing so effectively requires the destruction of the airplane. For example, in the case of the paper airplane, one can readily collapse the structure by crushing the paper body and wings, but doing so renders the airplane unusable.
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a toy airplane capable of being nondestructively and repeatably reconfigured between storage and use configurations that, where necessary, demonstrates sufficient rigidity when in a use configuration to permit play activities and, potentially, flight would represent a useful advance in the art.